U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Reopens Public Comment Period
on Draft Recovery Goals for Endangered Fish

LAKEWOOD, Colorado .B On
November 23, 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reopen a public comment period
on draft recovery goals to supplement and amend recovery plans for four species of
endangered fish of the Colorado River Basin. The Service granted the additional 15-day
comment period in response to requests for extension.

The draft recovery goals were developed during the past year with input
from public and private organizations representing seven states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming,
New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California.

A Notice of Reopening of Public Comment will be published in the Federal
Register on November 23, 2001. Comments will be accepted for 15 days and must be
postmarked by December 8, 2001. The Service will review all comments and make any
appropriate changes to the draft goals. A decision on the final goals will be made three
to six months after the comment period closes. Final goals will supplement and amend the
recovery plan for each species.

Draft recovery goals will be mailed to interested persons upon request
and are available at mountain-prairie.fws.gov/ea/infopackets. For more information,
contact the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, P.O. Box 25486, DFC, Lakewood, CO 80225, 303-969-7322, ext. 225.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the
principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish,
wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses
more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special
management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource
offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife
laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as
wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees
the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.